The present invention relates to coaxial connectors that are connected to coaxial cables and can be connected to mating connectors, to assemblies containing such connectors and to a method of assembly of fabrication of coaxial connector assemblies.
An example of a coaxial connector and of an assembly comprising mating connectors can be found in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-56085. The coaxial connector described in this publication has an outer contact member to which an outer conductor of a coaxial cable is connected, an inner contact member to which a center conductor of the coaxial cable is connected and a housing accommodating the contact members. The outer contact member and inner contact member are connected respectively to the outer and inner conductors of the coaxial cable by crimping. The inner contact member is located inside the outer contact member and the housing accommodates the outer contact member. The housing has a latch arm on one side intended for latching engagement with a mating connector. The coaxial connector, together with another coaxial connector connected thereto, forms a coaxial connector assembly. The mating coaxial connector comprises only one receiving cavity for the coaxial connector. The cavity has a latch member engaging with the latch arm.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-78784 represents another example of a coaxial connector and assembly comprising such a connector. The coaxial connector has an outer contact member to which an outer conductor of a coaxial cable is connected, an inner contact member to which a center conductor of the coaxial cable is connected and a housing accommodating the contact members. The housing contains multiple outer contact members and inner contact members. Therefore, when the coaxial connector is connected to with a mating coaxial connector, multiple coaxial connections are formed.
However, in recent years, a demand has arisen for modular type coaxial connector assemblies accommodating multiple coaxial connectors connected to coaxial cables for the connection of mating coaxial connectors thereto. In this practical application, the multiple coaxial connectors are of the same type, and it is also required that the mating connectors can be connected at a desired position or that these positions can be changed. In order to reduce the overall dimensions of the assembly, it is necessary to minimize the pitch at which the coaxial connectors are arrayed. At the same time, it is necessary to provide a possibility for the user to unplug individually any of the multiple coaxial connectors arrayed at a relatively narrow pitch. It is also desirable that the structure of the assembly should prevent the connectors from being inadvertently unplugged due to some external force applied to the coaxial cables. In addition, it is also desirable to provide a possibility of adjustment of the impedance of coaxial connectors to an optimal value, and to assure the ease of the assembly operations in forming the coaxial connector assemblies.
Therefore, the main purpose of the present invention is to provide a coaxial connector and an assembly thereof making it possible to plug in multiple mating coaxial connectors, especially at a narrow pitch, and to unplug any individual connector.
Another main purpose of the present invention is to provide, along with the coaxial connector, a method of fabrication providing for an easy assembly process, including conductor termination.
The present invention is directed to a coaxial connector comprising an outer contact member having a connecting section located at a front end for connecting to a mating connector and a terminating section located at a rear end for connection to an outer conductor of a coaxial cable, an inner contact member located inside the outer contact member and for connection to an inner conductor of the coaxial cable, and a housing accommodating the outer and inner contact members and having a latch arm latching with a mating housing when the connector is connected to a mating connector. The latch arm is formed in a cantilevered configuration extending forward from a rear portion of the housing and it has a latch engaging with the mating housing in the form of a lug having a cam surface that is used to release the engagement formed by the latch by means of a tool that can be inserted from a back end providing a cam action on the cam surface.
The outer contact member has practically the same diameter between the connecting section and the terminating section, and lugs extend outward from its outer surface for securing the outer contact member in the housing.
The latch arm has a means preventing it from deformation that can be caused by excessive bending.
A protective wall is provided in front of the latch arm protecting it from the front direction.
The present invention is also directed to a coaxial connector assembly having plug connectors connected to coaxial cables and a cap connector equipped with cavities receiving the plug connectors, with the cap connector and the plug connectors being electrically connected to each other, the cap connector has a relatively large cavity opening in which multiple cavities are arrayed that are intended for the accommodation of the plug connectors arranged in a row close to each other, and that multiple latch surfaces are located inside and along one edge of the cavity opening in the direction of the row of cavities, the purpose of which is to engage the plug connectors individually, and that engagement between the latch and the plug connectors can be released by means of a tool that is inserted in the cavity opening in the same direction as the plug connectors at the time of connection.
The plug housing has a latch arm engaging with the latch surface and that the latch arm has a tapered cam surface interacting with the tool, thereby providing a cam action to unlatch the latch arm from the latch surface.
A groove is provided in the cavity opening which can accommodate the cam lug of the latch arm having the cam surface facing backwards or towards the cavity opening.
The present invention is also directed to a method of fabrication of the coaxial connector comprising placing of terminating sections located at rear ends of outer contact members in a generally rectangular housing so that the terminating sections extend from a rear side of the housing, terminating a center conductor of a coaxial cable to an inner contact member, and passing the center conductor of the coaxial cable terminated to the inner contact member inside the outer contact member and crimping an outer surface of the terminating section to an outer conductor of the coaxial cable.
For the placement of the outer contact member in the housing, the housing is made of two halves that are placed over the outer contact member from mutually opposed directions and secures the outer contact member in the housing by joining the two halves together.
The crimping of the outer conductor by using a sleeve placed over the outer conductor and terminating it by crimping the sleeve.
A coaxial connector for matable engagement with a matable housing comprises an insulating housing having an outer contact member disposed therein, a dielectric bushing having a through hole in a connecting section of the outer contact member and having an inner contact member disposed therein, a terminating section provided by the outer contact member, and latch arm provided by the insulating housing and having a latching lug for latching engagement with a latching surface of the matable housing to latch the coaxial connector therein, wherein the connecting section extends outwardly from a front end of the insulating housing, the terminating section extends outwardly from a back end of the insulating housing, and a cam lug is provided on the latch arm and is engagable by a tool to disconnect the latching lug from the latching surface so that the coaxial connector can be disconnected from the matable housing.